Month: December 2017

Harvest Land has a lot of quality people working behind the scenes to ensure we’re meeting our customers’ needs every single day. Every so often we will highlight an employee that works diligently to serve our members.

Tammie is the Receptionist/Credit Assistant in our Richmond Administrative office and has worked at Harvest Land for eight years. If you’ve ever called this office and hung up thinking, “That was the nicest person I’ve ever talked to in customer service,” you probably talked to Tammie……more on that, below.

Her main responsibilities include answering phones, entering in customer payments and addressing commercial delinquents. Tammie assists with any questions members may have on billing, payment or new accounts. She then directs them to the appropriate place if she cannot answer their question.

Tammie’s favorite part of her job with the co-op is “getting to work with all the amazing people at Harvest Land and all of our members”.

What three words would she use to describe Harvest Land?

Knowledgeable

Courteous

Helpful

Tammie is an active participant of our Cultivating Communities program, and the organization she volunteers for is the American Legion Auxiliary where she runs the concession stand at the Richmond Fireworks. In her time outside work, Tammie enjoys bowling, throwing darts and spending time with family and friends whenever she can.

Tammie (left) and her family

Earlier this month Tammie was honored through our Salute to Service program where she was nominated by three individuals for her outstanding customer service. Check out what Harvest Land customers had to say about her:

“Tammie at your front desk is just about the nicest and most helpful person I think I’ve ever dealt with. Always happy, nice, jubilant and willing to help with any questions I’ve ever had about my account with Harvest Land. She is also very knowledgeable about her job and I think she deserves the nomination.” – Mike Adkins, Road Ready

“I am an oil customer of Harvest Land’s and had trouble with my bill. Tammie at the front desk was so pleasant to work with as we got the issue straightened out. She helped me understand how the invoicing works and made me feel much better about the situation. She sure helped me a lot and was very curtious. ” – Rita Gabbard

“In today’s world of automated phones, it is such a pleasure to talk with Tammie Fox each time I call. I have never met Tammie in person, but always recognize her friendly voice and wonderful laugh. I always hang up with not only all my questions answered, but also with a smile on my face. If Tammie has ever had a “bad” day at work, no customer would ever know because of the pleasant and professional way she answers the phone. In addition to all her required job skills, her phone skills are outstanding. I am sure that any highly stressed customer who calls also has a smile on their face when they hang up the phone. As it often does, one question may lead to more questions. Tammie has always been able not only to answer them all, but has never made me feel like my question were ever “dumb” (but I am sure many were). Being raised in the city is so different from the country. Tammie needs to be recognized for a job ALWAYS well done and her excellent communication and people skills. Tammie is truly an outstanding asset to Harvest Land. If anyone deserves a cash prize and 2 vacation days, Tammie Fox is the one!!!” – Rita Mitchell, Ossian, IN

Tammie is a fantastic asset on our team and the nominations she received from customers are a testament to that. Her work ethic and positive attitude make her an outstanding coworker in our Richmond office. Next time you call our Richmond office, be sure to say hello to Tammie!

But patience may be an even earlier lesson for those with livestock: halter breaking calves, meticulous diets for lambs or a holstein with an annoying switch.

However, perhaps the greatest lesson in patience comes the morning of December 25th.

It is on Christmas morning that livestock kids have to march past the twinkling glory of the the Christmas tree, surrounded by shiny wrapped gifts which are seeping with enough curiosity to kill a cat. They have to contain the anticipation and excitement, moving past it to find their Carhartts on their way to the bitter cold to tend stock.

Livestock kids have to take care of the cattle, hogs, sheep, horses or dogs, before they enjoy Christmas morning for themselves. They’ll pay close attention while feeding, watering and bedding all species at the quickest pace known to mankind.

The original lesson in patience comes early for farm kids who bypass the presents to take care of the livestock, then return to the house to open new gloves, a show stick and work boots under the tree. And they love it, all the same.

In September we invited you to send us stories of the positive encounters or experiences you have with Harvest Land employees for our Salute to Service program. We asked you to share with us the instance of an employee going above and beyond, someone handling a difficult assignment with professionalism or an employee representing Harvest Land in an oustanding way.

Ask and you shall receive, indeed.

We received 78 nominations from Harvest Land customers and employees nominating their peers. This was an amazing response to a simple ask! But it sure made our job difficult. We closed nominations on November 8 and then asked our employee base to read through all nominations and choose their top three choices to win the 2017 Salute to Service Award.

At our cooperative Christmas party on December 1 the winner was announced. Today we want to share with you the winner:

The nomination, written and submitted by Harvest Land HR Manager, Luann Nichol:

Scott,

I know you challenged the employee group to tell you a story of a co-worker going above and beyond for a customer or of someone handling a difficult assignment or representing Harvest Land in a great way.

I would like to take a few minutes to talk about Kim Buttery. Kim is an employee going above and beyond to represent Harvest Land in a great way. Nearly one year ago, Kim was given the most devastating news any human being can be given. She was told she had cancer. I, having four older siblings that have battled cancer with one sibling losing his battle, understand the “mountain” Kim was going to have to climb and the battle she would be fighting over the next year and beyond.

Now a year later, Kim has completed her round of intense chemotherapy treatments and is finishing up her radiation treatments. Over the course of this past year, Kim has managed to utilize minimal sick time and vacation time. There were days Kim could have chosen to curl up in her blanket in bed and stay home and rightfully so. There were days she came in looking wary and tired, feeling sick, but she never complained or wanted anyone to feel sorry for her. She sat at her desk and worked diligently, answered phones, assisted customers and provided leadership for her team. Kim has been an inspiration to her family, her church family, her staff, her co-workers not only in Richmond but within all of Harvest Land’s business divisions and anyone in the community who knows her.

As the H.R. Manager at Harvest Land, Kim is the definition of a dedicated employee with a work ethic like none other. Kim cares about her staff, her fellow co-workers and the member customers of Harvest Land. Kim continues to battle this disease with dignity, grace and courage. The road ahead is still long and Kim knows that but just as she has over this last year, she will continue to trek ahead one step at a time until she is over that mountain. May God continue to bless Kim and her family as he has over this last year. He has certainly blessed Harvest Land and its members with Kim’s presence over the last forty one years. Thank you.

Luann Nichol

H.R. Manager

Kim received greater than 37% of the total votes from our employees.

Congratulations, Kim!

We’re proud to call you a colleague and friend to many.

Thank you for every single person (all 78 of you!) who contributed to this contest. The entries absolutely impressed us and frankly, made us quite proud to work at Harvest Land.

So much good came from one simple request for a story.

In the months ahead, we’ll be highlighting the other outstanding submissions from customers and employees in an effort to give you a better look at the people behind your local farmer-owned cooperative.

Our energy team members were recently recognized for their outstanding service and sales volumes at the CountryMark Awards Banquet in Indianapolis. On this Photo Friday, we thought we’d share a few shots from the evening.

Mark Brown receiving the Gold Award for Liquid Fuels and Bronze Award for LubricantsHarvest Land Award WinnersMike Munchel receiving recognition for 35 years of serviceIf you know Munchel, this shot does not surprise you!CountryMark CEO, Charlie Smith, presents Harvest Land CEO, Scott Logue, with the third place award for lubricant purchasesBrent Stang and Mike Bradley watching the video announcing Brent as the 2017 Petroleum Sales Representative of the YearThis is the second year in a row that Brent has received this honorTwo of the best! RaeAnn Kennedy and Laura Wood from our Richmond officeWhat a great group!

Here are the official awards given to our team:

We’re proud to employ this group of people who represent our cooperative so well.